Leather Sky

"No Stairway," the opening track to this mud-flecked album, sounds a bit like a crustified version of Void's "My Rules." Mike Reisinger's barely discernible vocals are sharp and animalistic, Weston Wilson uses his guitar in slashing hardcore fashion while employing noise-rock textures, and Tiana Bernard's bass guitar seems as though it has been EQ'd to remove everything but bass from the mix. The resulting rumble sounds like a gas torch blowing full blast and modulated for tone. The impishly titled "Dioramageddon" sounds like something Sonic Youth might have done had it been influenced more by Fort Thunder bands than experience with No Wave. Recorded live, this album lacks the fidelity some might expect, but such fine production would have ruined the blunt and feral charm of this release.